The overall goal of the Einstein/Montefiore Cardiology Fellowship Program is to train academic cardiovascular sub-specialists, including basic scientists, clinical investigators, and highly skilled cardiovascular consultants and educators. For this reason, the training program includes both a rigorous core clinical training component and a period of flexible time. The structured core curriculum allows trainees to learn the basics of contemporary cardiology, achieving the cognitive knowledge, procedural skills, interpersonal skills, professional attitudes, and practical experience required of an interventional subspecialist. The flexible time allows trainees to shape their own training (in collaboration with the Program Director) so as to best prepare for diverse careers.

The training spectrum includes experience in the following areas:

Consultative Cardiology

Coronary Care Unit

Nuclear Medicine

Echocardiography (including 3-D echo)

Pacing and Electrophysiology

Cardiac Catheterization

Advanced Heart Failure

Cardiac Transplantation

Adult Congenital Heart Disease and Surgery

Mechanical Assist Devices

Cardiac CT, MRI and PET

First-Year Schedule

4 months on service (CCU, consults)

2 months echocardiography

2 months pacing and electrophysiology

2 months cardiac catheterization

1 month nuclear cardiology

1 month adult congenital heart disease

20 days of vacation

Core Cardiology Training (COCATS)

All fellows get level 2 certification in nuclear cardiology and echocardiography, including board certification. Additionally, the third year of fellowship is used to specialize in a particular area (echocardiography, nuclear cardiology, cardiac catheterization, electrophysiology, cardiac CT, etc.).

Clinical Rotations

The curricular experience is organized by areas of intellectual discipline, leading to a broad competency in the field of cardiology and to certifiable competency in specific skill sets of clinical cardiology. Each monthly rotation has its own intellectual academic goals and framework and integrates the ACGME competencies.

The training program consists of 36 month-long rotations integrated into the activities of 3 sites. Four weeks each year are allotted for vacation.

Rotations are intended to familiarize trainees with all aspects of interventional practice, including the following:

be facile with all and expert in the several aspects of clinical cardiology

have identified a broad career track and area of focused interest (with the help of the Program Director and appropriate faculty members) for particular expertise development

Research Experience

Research experience is critical to the training of academic subspecialists, a primary goal of the program. Structured, protected blocks of time and opportunities to complete a longitudinal research project, develop sophisticated technical skills to pursue clinical research, or pursue basic research allow fellows to acquire a portfolio of accomplishments during the years of training to qualify them for a career in academic medicine.

Night call is an important component of medical training. With active emergency departments at both Einstein and Montefiore, a significant volume of “emergency” cases, including cases with acute cardiac pathology, come to the program each week outside of scheduled hours.

We strongly believe that involving fellows meaningfully in this aspect of cardiology is important for education and development, and that fellows should be protected from managing medical diseases that do not require cardiovascular subspecialty skills. Accordingly, medicine, critical care, and cardiothoracic surgery all have residents or fellows assigned to night coverage. Cardiology is only consulted when appropriate.

Call Schedule

First-year fellows – 4 or 5 calls a month

Second-year fellows – 2 or 3 calls a month

Third-year fellows – no calls

Fellows only cover one campus on call, and have the entire post-call day off.

Conferences

Nearly every day there is a fellow-oriented conference addressing either a particular core curricular subject (e.g. didactic lectures), Cardiology Grand Rounds, Invasive Cardiology Grand Rounds, case management conferences, or conferences directed to specific skill development (e.g. ECG conferences, hemodynamic conferences, electrophysiology conferences, echocardiography conferences, etc). In most of these the fellows are active participants, as presenters or in response to Socratic exploration of the issues involved.